Agentless Network Monitoring with Armis
Almost every professional environment is now filled with interconnected devices. From corporate enterprises to the healthcare and manufacturing industries, many organizations now maintain their own internet of things (IoT). Such interconnection can reduce overhead and streamline processes, but it also opens up company networks to a wide range of new security risks. The truth is many IoT devices can’t support standard cybersecurity agents, and there’s a growing need for an integrated IoT security solution. Luckily, Armis meets this need with their innovative agentless network monitoring platform.
The Growing Need for Agentless Network Monitoring
The number of IoT devices is growing exponentially, especially in industrial settings. This expanding enterprise of things (EoT) includes all devices in a commercial environment that communicate with other devices on a network. However, many EoT devices can’t accommodate traditional security solutions due to ownership policies or hardware limitations.
Modern company networks are increasingly complex. They often feature an array of personal, professional, and enterprise devices on a single network. For instance, manufacturing companies often employ various programmable logic controllers (PLCs), industrial control systems (ICS), human-machine interfaces (HMIs), and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. By contrast, even basic franchises may have printers, smart TVs, cameras, and points of sale (POS), as well as SCADA and building automation systems on their networks.
The merging of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) presents a distinct cybersecurity challenge. Any enterprise’s risk profile grows significantly as their number of interconnected devices increases. What’s more, any number of PLCs, ICS, HMIs, and SCADA systems may connect directly to enterprise networks or the internet to allow for remote management. This provides attackers with multiple entry points to launch attacks against major systems through any connected device.
According to Armis, about 90% of enterprise devices are unmanageable by standard IT security agents. So-called “unagentable” devices are vulnerable because they’re often invisible, unmonitored, and unprotected. Unagentable devices include various office and personal devices, HVAC, physical security, and energy management systems, and dedicated network equipment. Industry-specific devices like PLCs, ICS, HMIs, robotics, POS systems, security cameras, smart meters, and healthcare equipment are also unagentable.
IoT security is essential for modern enterprises. While unagentable devices allow organizations to effectively operate at scale, they’re often unmonitored, hard to patch, and vulnerable to attackers. Enterprise security managers need a comprehensive security solution that addresses these concerns.
Benefits of Armis Agentless Network Monitoring
In the era of unagentable devices, Armis is a global leader in IoT security. Their groundbreaking agentless network monitoring platform is specifically designed to support OT and EoT environments. It provides unmatched visibility, monitoring, and reporting of all network devices, as well as automatic threat detection and response alongside Armis’ crowdsourced, cloud-based device behavior knowledgebase. Here are some of its major advantages.
1. Asset Discovery and Classification
Armis delivers unprecedented network visibility. It automatically generates a continuous inventory of all managed, unmanaged, BYOD, and cloud assets on any given network. The user-friendly dashboard displays all device types, models, manufacturers, locations, activities, communications, operating systems (OS), and common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs). Individual device details like IP and MAC address are also available with a single click. Armis supports greater IoT security by delivering comprehensive network visibility without disruptive network scans, device probes, or any new hardware installation.
2. Vulnerability Monitoring
In addition to its continuous asset inventory, the Armis platform also recognizes notable risks, vulnerabilities, and policy violations in any network. It constantly checks for security gaps across many levels throughout the environment. For instance, Armis shows which devices are exposed at any given time, whether through outdated OS, associated CVEs, or misconfigured and violated security policies. Each individual device vulnerability can be also expanded to reveal a detailed report explaining why Armis created the alert. It also detects network segment violations and displays common attack techniques listed in the MITRE ATT&CK knowledgebase.
3. Detection and Response
Armis provides an agentless endpoint detection and response (EDR) solution. It compares similar environments across its state-of-the-art crowdsourced knowledgebase of over 10 million unique device profiles. By constantly inventorying and monitoring any enterprise network, it immediately detects known and unknown threats, attacks, and IoT process changes. Armis seamlessly interprets OT protocols and behavioral anomalies to detect when process integrity is changed or compromised. As soon as it detects an issue, Armis takes automated actions to quarantine threats, keeping the operation running and its teams safe.
Our Agentless Network Monitoring Solution
The IoT is here to stay. Unmanaged devices boot up each day, and they embolden cybercriminals to take advantage of new attack surfaces. If you’re concerned about the security of your company devices, we welcome you to reach out for more information about Armis agentless network monitoring. We proudly offer this innovative IoT solution for all our clients.